Purpose The present study is a tentative contribution to paving the way for interdisciplinary research on the history of governance practices in ancient religious orders and on the significance of such governance for the orders' performance and long-term survival. Design/methodology/approach The principal challenges of and proposed directions for such research on the comparative governance of old religious orders are illustrated through selected historic examples from Benedictine abbeys and Dominican monasteries, as they can be found in the yet scarce literature devoted to religious governance in the management field. Findings Our review of research specifically devoted to the corporate governance of benedictines and dominicans illustrates the relevance of a hermeneutic grid derived from contemporary management research to better understand the historical dynamics of monastic governance and its relation to sustainability. Originality/value To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to establish a hermeneutic grid for the systematic and comparative study of the dynamics of governance systems in old religions organizations and their impact on organizational performance and sustainability.